In these unprecedented times, it’s important for all of us to remember that, because we’ve never been precisely here before, there is no template, map, app or handbook for the right way to lead and to be church.
Live by the clock or the compass? Clergy and churches must wrestle with this question
Jesus knew that if his followers were going to make any difference in the world, they would need a laser-like focus on a compass, not on a clock. Sadly, congregations and clergy often abandon this truth.
Are our churches and their leaders ready for the 2020s?
Rather than thinking of turnaround as simply a reversal of numerical decline, the real turnaround for congregations that thrive in the next decade will be a move from irrelevance to relevance in the lives of their constituents and their communities.
Shaming pastors is not the way to respond to two more mass shootings
In the aftermath of mass shootings in El Paso and Dayton, I read and heard exhortations along these lines: “If your pastor does not call out white supremacy and gun violence tomorrow in worship, it’s time to find another church.” Please, can we stop doing this?
Jason may be an obscure biblical character, but he offers insight for today’s church
The spirit of Jason is one of adventure and a willingness to embrace the possibility of the new, a spirit that embraces the upside-down way of Jesus. Maybe the church today needs more upside-down ways of thinking.
Does God call the minister – or does the church, a committee or a few well-placed influencers?
One of the occupational hazards of getting paid to pray is that a minister’s clear sense of calling, those moments of clarity and lucidity about one’s life trajectory, can get commodified into a discussion about one’s fitness for a particular ministerial position.
The only vision that works for congregations is God’s vision
“The Triune God is the only true source of vision that is clearly spiritual and has any chance of pulling a congregation forward in the direction of its full Kingdom potential. Humankind has great ideas. Humankind has experiences of inspiration….